SEATTLE - In a riveting display of skill and determination, O'Dea High School came tantalizingly close to victory, only to be edged out by Rainier Beach in a gut-wrenching 3-point loss on their home court. O'Dea, coming off a dominating display against West Seattle with a 67-50 victory, entered the game with loads of confidence, aiming for their first win over Rainier Beach in a year. Unfortunately, it did not go their way as they lost 62-65 on their home ground.
Malcolm Clark stated, "We have to stay more disciplined, especially in crunch time."
Despite the loss, sophomore Brian Webster dropped 20 points on 6/14 shooting. Webster has been hot lately after Coach Kerr gave him more playing time.
Webster said, “Ever since Coach told me I would be starting, I knew I had to step up my game and give all I can to the team.”
O'Dea fell behind early in the game and was down by 8 going into the half, but they came out hot, outscoring the Vikings in quarter 3 and quarter 4. O'Dea forced overtime but could not take the momentum they had built into OT.
O'Dea has a super young squad, with most of their starting lineup featuring sophomores or juniors. Players like Adonai Burkett and Isaiah Cunningham are seeing regular minutes for the Irish. O'Dea, the runners-up of the state championship last year, were favorites going into this game and were expected to blow out the Vikings. Still, they lost key players Mason Williams, who is playing Division 1 basketball at Eastern Washington University, and Miles Goodman, who transferred to OTE and plays for Rolling Loud. Goodman recently committed to play at Penn State.
Quincey Brown said, "Having Miles and Mason helped but know we know that we have to carry on what they left and help this team win State this year."
Goodman and Williams helped O'Dea reach the state championship game, averaging the most points on the team, and Goodman, always being a lob threat, helped O'Dea a lot in the paint. They passed the torch onto players like Webster and Breylon Webb, who has also been hot for O'Dea, averaging 10+ points per game and providing the defensive support that Goodman provided for them.
O'Dea falls to 1-1 after this loss, and they look to move past this setback and take on the Nathan Hale Raiders at O'Dea.
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